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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29776131">Moving on is easier said than done</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/bashfulberry/pseuds/bashfulberry'>bashfulberry</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>9-1-1 (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Eddie Diaz Week 2021, Emotional Baggage, Family Dynamics, Firehouse 118 Crew as Family (9-1-1 TV), Gen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 01:41:20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>657</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29776131</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/bashfulberry/pseuds/bashfulberry</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Eddie talks to Hen about feeling lost, set off by his reawakened love life.</p><p>For Eddie Diaz Week 2021: Day 1 (“I have no idea what I’m doing.” + fatherhood)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Eddie Diaz &amp; Henrietta "Hen" Wilson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>19</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Moving on is easier said than done</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>For Eddie Diaz Week 2021: Day 1 (“I have no idea what I’m doing.” + fatherhood) on tumblr</p><p>not beta-read<br/>Edit: fixed typos, thanks to MASHFanficChick for pointing them out</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was hour six of the next shift after the entire 118 fire house was sure they have been jinxed. So far there were only three calls, all of them pretty standard - a kitchen fire, a kid trapped in a car with the keys inside, and a medical call to an elderly man with suspected heart attack. They had time to regroup and wind down since the last alarm and Chim has already debated whether it was the bells or the time passed that broke the curse. Not that Eddie cared, he didn't believe in it in the first place. He believed in what he could see, what he could feel, what he could control. A rag in his hands as he polished the side of the truck checked all three boxes.</p><p>Beside him, Hen replaced all used up supplies in the ambulance. In between checking things off her list, she was sharing anecdotes about her family life - how Karen got used to her new positions, how much more chaotic they life has become since Hen started med school and Nia came to their home.</p><p>„I forgot having a two-year-old at home means regularly waking up in the middle of the night - I knew it consciously but the reality is always surprising, you know?”<br/>
Eddie's hand stopped on the already clean surface fo the truck. He faced Hen, her face full of affection and fondness towards her family.</p><p><br/>
„How do you do that? Balance all of it?”</p><p><br/>
„It's not easy, at all, to find the time, to make the time,” Hen replied, „but it's all worth it.”</p><p><br/>
Eddie nodded slowly. „I get finding the time, but it's not all there is to it, right?” He took a breath. „Between work and Chris, and trying to be there for my family now that we live so much closer, and now...” His voice failed on the last word.</p><p><br/>
„Dating?” Hen supplied quietly.</p><p><br/>
„It's just... A lot. And sometimes the realization hits me - I have no idea what I'm doing. I feel like I'm just going through the motions day in, day out, seeing it all, feeling it all, but never really thinking further than one step ahead.”</p><p><br/>
Hen put down the checklist and leaned on the truck next to him. „Hey, you know, you don't have to have it all figured out right now.” Her voice was soft but steady as was her presence by his side. Without pulling him into a hug, without anything more than a shoulder pressed against his.</p><p>„Before I met Karen, I was so lost. I barely knew which way was up some days. I had Denny, I had this job, I had ended a serious relationship. All that I knew was that I had to try my best to give Denny the best life he can have. So I tried every day to make it a little better, to get myself together a little more, to focus more on what can be that on what was. It didn't happen overnight but one day I realized I was in a much better place and that I'm not alone. I have a family, both at home, with Karen and the kids, and you guys here. That makes it easier to look forward.”</p><p>Eddie stayed quiet for a while after she finished. Thoughts roamed around his brain as usual but that time the whirlwind was somehow calmer. He needed time to process but that thought didn't scare him as much as before.<br/>
„Thank you. For sharing.”</p><p><br/>
Hen gave him her reassuring smile. „Anytime, Eddie. And remember, one step at a time is still forward.”</p><p><br/>
Maybe he didn't have to have all the answers right now. He could take it one step at a time. One step after another would give him more time to find where exactly it was he was going. One step after another and he would hopefully get where he needed to be.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I'm not super proud of this but I'm back in the (writing) saddle so I guess I'm just getting started</p><p>Kudos, comments, and interactions on tumblr @bashful-berry or @118foundfamily warm my heart</p></blockquote></div></div>
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